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Ken Kennedy
Ken Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) using the name Mr. Anderson. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) between 2005 and 2009 where he wrestled under the ring name Mr. Kennedy. Before being promoted to the main WWE roster, Anderson wrestled for numerous promotions in his career. While performing in these promotions, he won various championships, both in tag team and singles competition. Anderson was assigned to WWE's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky in 2005. After signing with WWE, Anderson made his debut on the SmackDown! roster in August 2005. In September 2006 he captured his first and only title with the company, the WWE United States Championship, and would hold onto it for a month. The following year, at WrestleMania 23, Anderson won the annual Money in the Bank ladder match, a contract, which guarantees a match for any of WWE's three top titles. He was released from his WWE contract on May 29, 2009. Early life Anderson is the son of James Alan Holmes and Sheryl Anderson and has one sister, Jennifer Holmes. His father died on April 13, 2006 from cancer. Anderson is a graduate of Washington High School in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. During his time there, Anderson excelled at swimming and track & field. He also announced school basketball games and did a radio assignment in his Mass Media class. When doing this, a friend suggested to Anderson to repeat the surnames again to make it funnier. Before starting a wrestling career, Anderson worked at a nuclear plant as a security officer and as a personal trainer. He also served in the United States Army. Professional wrestling career Anderson was trained by All-Star Championship Wrestling Alumni Eric Hammers and Mike "Mercury" Krause. He was invited to appear in a trial basis on WWF Jakked, WWE Velocity, and WWE Sunday Night Heat as an independent jobber several times from 2001 to 2004. Anderson made some appearances on TNA Xplosion and was initially approached for a contract at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling by Jeff Jarrett but communications broke down. Anderson competed in the 2002 and 2003 Ted Petty Invitational tournaments (the first one then known as the Sweet Science Sixteen tournament) but did not advance past the first round in either of them. World Wrestling Entertainment (2005-2009) Upon signing with WWE in February 2005, Anderson was sent to the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental territory. After six months he was called up to work on Velocity. Before his first SmackDown! match, a victory over Funaki, he showed himself to be a cocky and arrogant wrestler with not only his mannerisms but by taking a microphone and performing his own ring announcement. He referred to himself as "Mr. Anderson" for this match. A few weeks later, to avoid comparisons with the more famous Anderson family (as well as former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson), he changed his name to "Ken Kennedy", or "Mr. Kennedy". This idea was initially suggested by Paul Heyman and was chosen as his name because it is the middle name of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2010-present) On January 17, 2010, at Genesis, Anderson made his return to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Mr. Anderson, as a last-minute mystery replacement for Bobby Lashley. He defeated Abyss, who was originally scheduled to face Lashley (who pulled out due to strikeforce comitments) until Abyss knock Lashley out, after hitting Abyss with brass knuckles. Wrestling facts *'Finishing and signature moves' :*Kenton Bomb :*Green Bay Plunge :*Mic Check *'Nicknames' :*"Kamikaze" :*"A**hole" *'Theme music' :*"Turn Up the Trouble" by Airbourne (WWE) - remixed twice :*"With a Mic" by Jim Johnston (WWE) :*"Your Disease" by Saliva (OVW) Championships and accomplishments *'World Wrestling Entertainment' :*WWE United States Champion (1 time) :*Mr. Money in the Bank (2007) *'NWA Mid-American Wrestling' :*MAW Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *'NWA Midwest' :*NWA Midwest Heavyweight Champion (1 time) See also *Mr. Kennedy’s event history *Mr. Kennedy’s gimmicks External links and references *Ken-Kennedy.com (Official Website) *Mr. Kennedy profile at CAGEMATCH.net Category:American wrestlers Category:Deep South Wrestling alumni Category:Florida Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Great Lakes Championship Wrestling alumni Category:IWA Mid-South alumni Category:NWA Mid American Wrestling alumni Category:Northeast Wrestling current roster Category:Nu-Wrestling Evolution current roster Category:Ohio Valley Wrestling alumni Category:Top Rope Promotions current roster Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling current roster Category:World Wrestling Council alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni